• Education Minister calls it political vandalism
• Centre aims to install handpicked loyalists and turn iconic PU into a political arena, says Harjot Singh Bains
Chandigarh, November 1:
In a blistering onslaught against the BJP-led Central Government for its unilateral decision to dissolve the 59-year-old Senate and Syndicate of Panjab University, Punjab Education Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains on Friday branded the action a shameless assault on Punjab’s pride, democracy, and intellectual legacy.
Harjot Bains declared that this is not governance—it is outright political vandalism. The Centre’s reckless step crushes Punjab’s hard-won autonomy, academic independence, and constitutional guarantees. It is a direct attack on the essence of Punjab itself.
The Education Minister underscored the deep historical and emotional bonds with Panjab University, forged through generations of Punjab’s collective labour, intellect, and sacrifices. He challenged the motives behind this sudden dissolution, especially given the resounding public mandate in the recent Senate elections.
“How dare the Centre tear down a six-decade-old democratic body?” demanded S. Harjot Singh Bains, noting that in the last Graduate Constituency polls, Punjab’s voters swept all seats by electing their chosen representatives—a crystal-clear people’s verdict. Now, the BJP-led Centre, having failed to earn trust at the polls, seeks to appoint its cronies and transform this revered institution into a political playground.
Labeling the decision not as reform but as “an act of occupation,” he exposed a sinister plot to centralise power, stifle Punjab’s unique voice, and undermine the federal principles embedded in the Indian Constitution.
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The Education Minister warned that this is a crude bid to suppress opposition and erode state rights. But Punjab will not bow to such authoritarian bullying. He vowed that the Punjab Government, in solidarity with the academic fraternity—teachers, students, and staff—will fiercely resist the Centre’s actions across all democratic platforms and pursue every legal and constitutional remedy to safeguard Punjab’s legacy and rights.
He emphasised that Panjab University is Punjab’s own—rooted in its people, history, and future. It does not belong to a remote, overbearing Centre intent on muting it. The people of Punjab will never tolerate this political vandalism.
